Distressed and Glazed Gray Side Table

If you've been here before, you know that the words "lightly" and "distressed" almost always go together. And I usually distress with a sanding sponge. I love them so much I buy them in the contractor packs. But this cute little side table comes from Megan and she is much braver than I am when it comes to distressing.

This is one of those pieces that sat in my garage for a very long time. I actually love the size and shape, it just never made it to the top of my things to work on list. Megan asked what I wanted to do with it. I told her she could do whatever she wanted with it.

After sanding and scrubbing and rooting through my paint colors, Megan decided to go with two shades of gray mixed with the chalk paint recipe. The body is a lighter shade called French Silver and the drawer is a darker shade called Dark Pewter, both Behr paint and primer in one.

And no, Megan did not go with a "light" sanding. She broke out the electric sander and gave it a nice distressed look. It actually has the chippy look you often see with milk paint.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After distressing, Megan mixed a little of the darker paint color with some Valspar Clear Mixing Glaze and went over the light gray color to give it a little more depth. She just brushed it on with a sponge brush and wiped it "lightly" (I knew I could use that word somewhere) with a soft cloth.

 

The secret to perfect glazing is to have a wet and dry cloth ready. Start with the dry and if you are not happy, wipe it off with the wet cloth and try again - it's foolproof!

And there you have it it - a cute little distressed and glazed side table. Thanks for rescuing this one Megan. I love the look and promise to give the more distressed look a try!

We've decided that here at Elizabeth & Co., we each have a very individual look. Many of our customers recognize our work without even looking at the tag. So what do you think, do you have a signature look?

 

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Jennifer Rizzo

 

C.R.A.F.T.

 

  

 

Be Inspired Features and Link Party #34

Happy Tuesday! Welcome back for features and party day!
 

I hope you all enjoying the last days of summer. Yesterday I spent the entire day outside painting and crunchy leaves were falling all around me. It made me feel like maybe I really am ready for fall. How about you? ... Lots of wonderful links as always. I so appreciate that you take the time to share. Here are just a few awesome projects that caught my eye this week ...

 

Love this beautiful French Country dining set from Korrie at Red Hen Home! I just finished a similar set and I can appreciate just how much work went into this project. Chairs take forever!

 

 

Angie from Knick of Time created a custom farmhouse table for her new kitchen. And the top is made from a cellar door from her former home. What a wonderful way to preserve a memory!
I think her horse approves too.

 

 

Angie also shared this project that is part of her kitchen remodel. I
can't wait to see this kitchen all put together!

 

  

And here's another door project, this one from Cottage4c. Don't you just love big rustic sliding doors?

  

  

I am always amazed by the thought of painting upholstery. But just check out this before and after from Laurel at The North End Loft!

 

How pretty is that fall tablescape from Daisy Mae Belle!

The warmth of the brass is perfect for fall and winter.

 

 

Our Pinteresting Family shared this play kitchen made from a TV stand. It is just so darn cute!

 

 

 

And I love to end on a sweet note. Leslie from Gwen Moss shared her secret ingredient for the best carrot cake ever. Gosh these look good!

 

 

 

Thanks so much to everyone who linked up and linked back! If you've been featured, there's a cute little button on the sidebar!

 

 

Now on to this week's party...

 

* Link up your furniture makeovers, DIY projects, home decor, crafts, recipes, thrifty finds, etc... We want to see whatever is inspiring you at the moment!

* Grab a party button and add it to your post or link back in some way. You must have a visible link back to be considered for a feature!

* And be sure to follow along with us!

We'll be back next week with features and a brand new party.
Now let's share some inspiration! 

 

 

 

 

 

A Little Chalk Paint Test

Today is the first day of school in our area. And if you follow along, you know that my daughter Megan is a high school English teacher. She's back in the classroom and that means I've lost my painting buddy. And that's just no fun at all! ... But we had a really productive summer and a whole lot of fun too. So in honor of back-to-school week, I thought I'd share a few of Megan's projects that I never got around to posting along the way. First up, a little chalk paint test that happened purely by accident! ... Several months ago, I dug this little chair out of the back of my garage. I really can't even remember where it originally came from.

 

I painted it with the last bit of chalk paint I had on hand. The color is Louis Blue and I played around with a just a bit of dark wax. It was all set to go to a tag sale when Megan spotted it and thought it would look cute in her dining room. But she really needed two chairs, one for each side of her hutch.

 

 

So for several months we were keeping an eye out for another chair. No need to actually match, just something cute. And we finally found one at a barn sale over the summer. Turns out that it matched even more than we expected.

 

  

By this time, I was out of the original chalk paint. So I took the color chart to Home Depot and had it color matched to a quart of the Behr paint and primer in one. I am a big fan of this paint!

 

 

 And Megan mixed up a batch of homemade chalk paint.

 

 

And here is the result. Can you tell the difference?

 

Here's the original.

And here's the homemade chalk paint version.
It looks and feels exactly the same!
We didn't really set out to do a side-by-side comparison, but it turned out to be fun and reaffirmed for us that making your own chalk paint is a great option to have.

  

Megan loves the little blue chairs on either side of her hutch.

They are a fun pop of color and provide extra seating for guests.

 

 

Isn't this a cute dining room? It's so bright and happy!

Megan's style is encouaging me to go lighter and brighter in my home. ... And there are a few more summer projects in this room that I'll share later this week.

 

 

Happy back-to-school to everyone.

Hope you have a great first day Megan!

 

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